Boston Red Sox

A few weeks tardy, but here are my thoughts and analysis on the season that lies ahead. Thus far in the young season, there have been some big surprises. The Cleveland Indians and Kansas City Royals are a combined 23-11, while the Boston Red Sox and New York Mets trail their respective divisions. Okay, the Mets' early woes aren't much of a shock.

The Boston Red Sox had few fans nearly 50 years ago. Fewer admit being fans back in 1963 and 1964. Few fans of today were alive back then. Those seasons were the Dark Ages of Red Sox lore. 

We are close to three weeks into the season, and few things are going as expected. Some teams have players that are surprising, and other teams are simply outperforming their expectations.

Its a long season, and things change, but some of these surprises are legitimate, and have some staying power. Cleveland may not necessarily be in for a major losing streak, and the Red Sox may not be the 100-win team people were expecting.

The slumbering Boston Red Sox are now wide awake.  

Either that or they're faking it really well.

The Red Sox pounded out three straight wins over the Toronto Blue Jays behind excellent starting pitching, a barrage of hot hitting and a bullpen that has suddenly remembered how to not suck.

About time!

Those of us who are baseball fans generally know statistics for the greatest players of the game.

But sometimes we fail to consider how some of the greatest had altered statistics because they served their country during times of war.

Let's consider four Hall of Fame Players whose numbers could have been so much greater.

Ted Williams is generally regarded as the greatest hitter ever to play baseball.

Williams finished his career with a lifetime average of .344. He had 521 home runs and 2654 hits.

It's time for the Red Sox to prepare to trade Jacoby Ellsbury before the trading deadline.  In fact, unless his hitting improves dramatically, I think he should definitely be traded.

It was the worst of times, it was the worst of times...

- NOT the opening paragraph of A Tale of Two Cities

Alright, so that's not exactly the way Charles Dickens put it, in his Tale of Two Cities. Yet that's reality in Boston for fans of the 2-10 Sox these days.

If you’re like most in Red Sox nation, this season’s start is less than ideal. At 2-9, Boston is not behind the eight ball yet, but they are well on their way.

Consider their numbers:

After 11 games, the team’s batting average is .230. They have only seven home runs and are scoring a little over three runs a game. Now add to this a pitching staff whose earned run average is 6.77. It certainly paints a portrait as to why the Red Sox are struggling.

From Palm Springs to City of Palms, Red Sox Nation has sought professional help for their stressful inability to handle the agony of defeat.

As for ownership, they have applied from the city of Boston for a license to offer mixed drinks at Fenway to help fans cope with the most expensive, losing team in Sox history.

Major League Baseball formally released the draft order for this June’s draft this afternoon.